Strawberry Love
by DemonessOfPunishment
Summary: Even the best strawberries can be bruised.


**Strawberry Love**

PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronins, anything associated with them, or any of the songs featured in this fic. I'm not doing this for a profit, so let's not sue, yeah?  
Quick opening notes: I'm not DemonessofPunishment (Marik) posting this. Call me Yugi. Marik is being oh so kind and lending me her profile. It's my first attempt at a sexy band fic. Please don't hurt me.

"Ryo, when are you turning in the application for the battle of the bands?" Sage turned his amethyst eyes on his friend as they walked to their third period classes. He flipped some meticulously cared-for blonde hair out of his face. Girls nearby swooned as the school's idol (taken and gay, but that didn't stop them) tugged his jeans up just over his hips. They hugged him in all the right ways, as immaculate as his light green t-shirt. The soft fabric had a slight sheen to it that accentuated where it stretched tightly across his chest and stomach.  
Shaggy black hair fell into Ryo's clear blue eyes and he didn't bother brushing it away. "When Cale gets out of the hospital." He pulled up the sleeves of his red zip-up hoodie and stretched, exposing a stretch of slightly tan stomach under his black t-shirt. Ryo stuffed a hand into the back pocket of his tight black pants and shrugged. "I'm not playing without drums."  
"Anubis can play for him."  
"He can barely keep up with us in practice when we've slowed down for him. There's no way he could keep up at a show, Sage."  
The red-head in question was waiting at a junction that led to their respective classes. "Rowen says practice is at his house tonight." Anubis sighed and pulled his long red hair out of the loose, low ponytail it had been in, holding the elastic band between his teeth as he adjusted his hair into a messy bun for gym. Tugging his thin, rust-colored shirt back into place over his barely-too-big jeans, he scuffed his shoe on the floor. "And Cale messaged me during Algebra. He'll be out today, but his doctor has threatened to check him into the hospital again if he doesn't take it easy for the next few days."  
"How long does his doctor want him to rest?" asked Rowen, coming up from behind them and joining them against the wall. "Cye said that he just turned in their application this morning."  
"Five days tops."  
"Does that give us enough practice time? I mean that's, what, a little under a week?" Ryo sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair.  
"That's plenty of time," Sage replied, patting Ryo on the shoulder. "It's only a three-song set, right? We've already got at least the first and half of the second song down." The blonde turned to Rowen when Ryo sighed again and started talking to Anubis about how Cale was doing after his encounter with the flu. "So I hear practice is at your house tonight?"  
"Yeah." Rowen nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket when it vibrated to let him know he had a message.  
"Can I come over early?" Sage winked.  
"Why?" Rowen tapped on the keys of his phone and hit send.  
"I like that shirt on you, is it new?" Sage pulled at the sleeve of Rowen's navy blue jersey-style shirt. "It looks good with those pants." The jeans in question were too long for Rowen, despite his long legs, and pooled around his sneakers in bunches that didn't look right considering how tightly they hugged his hips and thighs.  
"Cye is coming over to study for our human bio test after school, though."  
"Too bad." Sage leaned up and kissed Rowen slowly. The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh, come on," Ryo complained. "I don't care what you two get up to behind closed doors, but can't you keep it in your pants at least at _school_, Sage?"  
"Oh calm down, Ryo. It's not like I'm humping him to death or anything."  
The other three rolled their eyes. Anubis checked his watch. "Oh, crap, I have to get to the locker rooms. See you guys after school!"  
"Hey, Ro," Ryo asked as the remaining three separated for their classes. Ryo and Rowen had English Lit class together. "Did Cye say if Kayura was performing with them this time?"  
The blue-haired boy shrugged. "He said something about her singing the tie-breaker."  
"Crap. Isn't it, like, fraternizing with the enemy or something? She's Cale's sister!"  
"Ryo, they aren't our enemies. Besides, didn't you have a big crush on Cye for the longest time? We're all friends, so it's not like you have to pretend otherwise." Rowen rolled his eyes. "Besides, we have enough people on stage already. Add another one and it'll get too crowded. Kayura fits in with them well."  
They took their seats, pulling out their notebooks and copying down the day's warm up exercise.

"What are we practicing today?" Rowen asked, plugging his bass into an amp. Sage was setting up his mike and Ryo was plucking at the strings of his guitar. Anubis had positioned himself at his synth, adjusting knobs and pressing buttons.  
"Well, we need to get In the Shadows down, but we're almost done that, and we need to pick a third song and a tie-breaker," Ryo replied.  
"I think our backup should be Phoenix," Anubis said, finished with his fiddling. "It's one we're pretty strong at."  
"Okay, that's good. But what about our third song?"  
Sage thought for a minute and then began to mess with his guitar for a bit. "I don't know. What would go well with To the End and In the Shadows?"  
"How about All that I've Got?" Rowen asked.  
"It's kind of slow. After In the Shadows? I don't know." Ryo continued plucking at his strings in a bored manner.  
"Then why don't we switch To the End to the second song and make In the Shadows the first?" Sage asked. "Then it's pretty even, right?"  
"Yeah, I like that," Anubis agreed.  
Ryo shrugged. "We'll try that out then, I guess. But we really need Cale on drums if we're doing these songs. If he can't perform we need a whole new set list."  
"He'll be fine for the show," Anubis said. "Let's just practice."  
"Hey, hey, hey!" said a voice from Rowen's bedroom door. "Why are you starting without me?"  
"Cale!" Anubis frowned. "You just got out of the _hospital_, you idiot!"  
Cale's answering grin made the scar that traveled over his eye crinkle. "Aw, come on Anubis… You know I can't stay in one place for long. Especially being laid out in bed--"  
Ryo snorted. "That's what _he_ said."  
"Shut up, Ryo. Just because I get ass and you don't doesn't mean you have to proclaim your jealousy for all to see."  
Anubis flushed as red as his hair. "That's not the point of this argument!"  
Sauntering over to where Anubis stood, Cale winked and gave him a lecherous smirk. "So are we moving to the garage? My drums don't fit in this tiny room."  
Rolling his eyes, Sage unplugged his guitar and the amp it was attached to, picking it up and hauling out into the hallway. "Yeah, let's go. Now Ryo can stop being emo about not having a drummer."  
"Aw, Ryo! You really do love me!"  
"Shut up and go set up your drums," the black-haired boy replied, mimicking Sage and grabbing his amp. "You're late."  
Shifting his bass to his back (thank god for straps) Rowen helped Anubis move his synth. "Grab the other amp, Cale," Anubis said. "If you're good enough to play, you're good enough to haul equipment."  
Cale sighed and grabbed the remaining two amps and a few cords that were left behind and made his way into the garage.

The stage was dark as Sage stumbled on. "Fuck!" he whispered, glad the band was behind curtains and the mikes weren't on yet. Straightening the amp, Sage made his way to the mike stand and plugged his guitar into the amp and turned it on. As everyone else filtered on after him, Sage heard three more thumps and soft curses. "Are we ready?" he asked in a stage whisper.  
"Ready."  
"Always."  
"Of course."  
"Just get on with it."  
Sage signaled one of the techies offstage that they were ready and he hear the kid mutter into a walkie-talkie and after a brief pause, the curtains began to open and the boys were blinded temporarily by the spotlight on Sage and as their eyes adjusted, Cale counted off three beats just loud enough for the others to hear. Ryo began to play as Sage leaned into the mike, singing in a throaty, deep voice.  
"_He calls the mansion not a house but a tomb; he's always choking from the stench and the fume. The wedding party all collapsed in the room._" He had come in more layers than he was wearing, but it was hot back stage and he'd had to take them off or pass out. He was left in tight tan leather pants that encased his legs and left nothing to the imagination and a black tank top that didn't quite meet his pants where they settled at his hips. His hair was carefully parted and spiked in a sweep across his forehead and face, hiding half of one of his thinly outlined eyes. Ryo leaned in to join Sage in the same sort of voice. "_So send my resignation to the bride and the groom. Let's go down!"  
_Another two lights came on over Rowen and Cale as they began to play, illuminating Anubis where he was between them.  
"_This elevator only goes up to ten; he's not around he's always looking at men down by the pool, he doesn't have many friends._" Ryo's guitar lay flat against his hips where his unbuttoned jeans rested precariously, exposing a sliver of tanned skin under his skin-tight red t-shirt. His fingers danced over the strings as he played, moving in closer to Sage to get a better angle on the mike. The two were so close they were singing at an angle to each other to avoid colliding their guitars. "_As they are, face down and bloated; snap a shot with the lens! If you marry me, would you bury me? Would you carry me to the end?"  
_"_Say goodbye,_" Ryo said, staring intensely at Sage over the mike.  
"_To the vows you take."_ Sage stared back with half-closed eyes, a small smirk on his face.  
"_Say good bye._"  
"_To the lives you make."  
_"_Say good bye."  
_ "_To the hearts you break and all the cyanide you drank."  
_Rowen watched the two as he pounded out the baseline to the song, thinking possessive thoughts of Sage and vaguely violent thoughts of Ryo. Shaking his head slightly, he stared out at the crowd to distract himself and caught sight of Cye in the crowd, dancing on the gym floor with the rest of the crowd. He watched the blue eyes travel up his baggy khakis to his hips, which swayed gently with the beat of his bass, and on upwards to his blue and white shirt. He caught Rowen watching him and grinned, pausing in his dance to give the blue-haired boy on stage a thumbs-up.  
Meanwhile, Sage continued to sing, his eyes not leaving Ryo's as the two seemed to compete for whose voice would be noticed more. They sounded so similar together, though, that it was hard to tell them apart. "_She keeps a picture of the body she lends; got nasty blisters from the money she spends. She's got a life of her own and it shows by the Benz, she drives at 90 by the Barbies and Kens!"  
_"_If you ever say never too late, I'll forget all the diamonds you ate. Lost in coma and covered in cake; increase the medication, share the vows at the wake!"  
_"_Kiss the bride!"_ The other three yelled, to be heard over the music.  
"_If you marry me, would you bury me? Would you carry me to the end?"  
_"_Say good bye,"_ Sage sang, taking Ryo's part without warning and giving his black-haired friend a wink.  
Ryo didn't hesitate to pass Sage a confused glare but he sang anyway. "_To the vows you take,"  
_"_Say good bye_."  
"_To the lives you make."  
_"_Say good bye_."  
"_To the hearts you break and all the cyanide you drank!"  
_In order to keep to their time restrictions, they had cut out the next two repeats of the chorus and launched straight into the last two stanzas. Sage let Ryo have his part back. "_And say goodbye."  
_"_To the last parade."  
_"_Walk away."  
_"_From the choice you made."  
_"_Say goodnight."  
_"_To the hearts you break and all the cyanide you drank."  
_The last stanza they sang together, their vocal pitch nearly perfectly in sync. "_To the last parade, when the parties fade. And the choice you made, to the end…"  
_The applause they received was much louder than they expected, and Rowen searched out Cye again, to find him jumping and cheering as hard as any of Sage's manic fan girls.  
Sage took the mike in his hand as Ryo backed off a few steps. "That was To the End, by My Chemical Romance. Next up is The Rasmus' In the Shadows; but first, a quick introduction. We have Cale, on drums." Sage turned slightly to gesture to Cale who sat in the back on his tall stool and beat out a quick rapport. "Anubis on synthesizer," Anubis raised a hand and hit a few keys, making a guitar note come out and then distort into something from a piano, "and Rowen on bass." Rowen grinned and played a short piece. "Ryo on guitar and vocals." Ryo smirked and did a rock star-style slash of his strings for no reason other than to be silly. "And me, Sage, on guitar and vocals." Sage exchanged a glance with Ryo and backed off, allowing Ryo to walk up to the mike, tugging his shirt off as he went. The audience could see the slight sheen to his face from being under the hot lights on stage, and he used his shirt to wipe his face. Tossing it off stage, Ryo leaned in, readjusting his guitar in a way that made his pants slip down just below his hips, exposing more of his tantalizingly tanned stomach. Anubis waved slightly and began to manipulate the synth. A thin, electronic sort of sound emanated from it in steady beats and after a few of them, Rowen came in on bass. Shortly afterwards, every one joined in and Ryo began to sing. "_No sleep. No sleep until I'm done with finding the answer. Won't stop. Won't stop until I find a cure for this cancer._" Ryo's hips swayed with the music, his mouth so close to the mike from any kind of distance he almost seemed to be making out with it. "_Sometimes, I feel I'm going down and so disconnected. Somehow, I know that I am haunted to be wanted_."  
Sage came up next to him and began to sing the chorus with Ryo, matching his movements as they played. "_I've been watching, I've been waiting in the shadows, all my time. I've been searching, I've been living for tomorrows all my life. In the shadows. In the shadows._" Sage backed off again, letting Ryo sing his song.  
"_They say that I must learn to kill before I can feel safe. But I, I'd rather kill myself than turn into their slave._" Ryo took a small step back. "_Sometimes, I feel that I should go and play with the thunder._" Ryo's clear blue eyes searched out a familiar brunette in the crowd and caught another pair of blue, holding them entranced as he stared, singing for one person. "_Somehow I just don't want to stay and wait for a wonder._" Ryo didn't notice Sage joining him for the chorus again. "_I've been watching, I've been waiting in the shadows all my time. I've been searching, I've been living for tomorrows all my life._"  
Ryo broke eye contact for just a second, and when he looked again, the face he had struggled to find was gone. "_Lately I've been walking, walking in circles; watching waiting for something. Feel me, touch me, heal me, come take me higher._"  
"_I've been watching, I've been waiting in the shadows all my time. I've been searching, I've been living for tomorrows all my time. I've been watching. I've been waiting. I've been searching. I've been living for tomorrows. In the shadows. In the shadows. I've been waiting._" Ryo thought he caught a glimpse of brown hair leaving the gym where the battle of bands was being held, but Sage snapped him back to attention as he announced their last song.  
"Last for you tonight," Sage said, glancing at Ryo as he took a step back, "is All That I've Got by The Used."  
Ryo began to play with Anubis filling in, and the lights on the stage dimmed around them. Cale entered on drums at the same time Rowen began to play. Sage left his guitar untouched at his side and leaned in to sing.

Cye leaned into the mike as the lights brightened on stage. His guitar lay behind him on the floor as the music started with Kento on bass and Dais on guitar. The music paused for a second when he began to sing, and then everyone came back in as Cye sang in a lower-than-normal voice, his accent barely coming through as he practically made out with the mike as he began. "_I want a girl with lips like morphine. Knock me out every time they touch me._" He scanned the crowd with half-lidded eyes, searching for blue hair he knew would appear soon. "_I wanna feel a kiss just crush me…and break me down._" His hips rocked and swayed with the beat of the song, baggy jeans barely clinging to them as the artful rips in them exposed flashes of thigh and knee every time he moved. "_Knock me out. Knock me out. Cause I've waited for all my life to be here with you tonight._"  
His light blue button-up shirt was undone to halfway down, showing off the pale skin of a well-toned chest. "_I want a girl with lips like morphine. Blow a kiss that leaves me gasping._" Just to show off for the face he'd spotted, Cye winked and blew a kiss between lines. "_And I wanna feel that lightning strike me and burn me down._" Hair fell in his face, but he told himself not to brush it aside. Dais had struggled to spike it in his face like this, and it looked good. "_Knock me out. Knock me out. Cause I've waited for all my life to be here with you tonight. Just put me on my back; knock me out again._"  
Rowen watched Cye from the side of the gym. This was a side of the brunette he had never seen. To be dead honest, Rowen didn't think Cye could be so, so…sexy. So appealing. Frowning in thought, Rowen allowed himself to be carried away with the music as he watched the person singing on stage.  
"_I want a girl with lips like morphine. Knock me out every time they touch me. I want a girl with lips like morphine to knock me out._"  
"_See, I've waited for all my life to be here with you tonight. Just put me on my back; knock me out again_."  
At the end of the song, Cye turned and picked up his guitar, slinging the strap over his shoulder and plugging it into the amp. "That was Lips like Morphine by Kill Hannah. I'm Cye, That's Dais, over here is Kento, and behind us is Sekhmet. Kayura won't be joining us to sing until later. This is The Closest Thing by The Juliana Theory."  
The music began gently and Cye began to sing. "_You're the words that come out easy, and I am speechless at best. Your star, it seems to shine above the rest. You're the face before the cameras, the smile I'd like to earn; the closest thing to perfect in a Hollywood to burn_." With an artful flick of his head, Cye managed to twitch some of the spikes from directly in front of his eyes. "_You're the beauty that is deeper than eyes can merely see; the closest thing to perfect, but the farthest thing from me._"  
From the middle of the floor, where most people were suddenly dancing in couples, Ryo made his way towards the edge of the pack, watching Cye on stage. He was suddenly very interested in when Cye had adopted that alternate personality.  
"_I'd love to be the shoulder that you cry on. I'd love to be the friend you call when things are great. I'd love to be the shoulder that you cry on. I'd love to be the friend you call when things are great_." Cye was watching the crowd now, having lost that sexy stance. His body still hugged the mike, but now he was a bit further so that he had room to play. "_You're the dream that hasn't ended and I'm still anxious for rest. Your words, they seem to hang above my head. You're the bud before the flower, unfurls into full bloom._"  
Kento watched Cye, wondering what had brought on his acting. It surprised him to see Cye looking so amazingly sexy. He was aroused by it, and Kento thanked whatever god was out tonight that he had an instrument blocking the sudden bulge in his pants.  
"_Captivating beauty, but it may be all too soon. You're the song that writes a story but leaves a lot to read; the closest thing to perfect but the farthest thing from me. I'd love to be the shoulder that you cry on. I'd love to be the friend you call when things are great. I'd love to be the shoulder that you cry on. I'd love to be the friend you call when things are great._"  
"_And like I really deserve a chance to sit across the table and tell you that I think you're wonderful. And I think you're something special. I guess this is my only chance to say I wish I knew you, because I'm sure you're wonderful if I'd get to know you_."

The announcer's voice rang out over the speakers around the stage as he spoke into the mike. "And now for the tie-breaker competition! Each band will have the chance to perform one more song for us and then we must vote again for the winner. Players, are we ready? Audience, are we ready?" There was a rousing cheer from both groups and Cye, Dais, Sekhmet, Kento, and Kayura trooped on stage. Kayura took the mike as her friends set up their instruments. "Hi, I'm Kayura, a sometimes-member of this group, and for our last song tonight I'll be singing Shivaree's Goodnight Moon."  
The low, bass-y music started up and Kayura pulled the mike in close. "_There's a nail in the door and there's glass on the lawn, tacks on the floor, and the TV's on. And I always sleep with my guns when you're gone._" Kayura's dark blue hair was styled meticulously flat and hung down her back in a sheet. Her shirt was something she had stolen from Cale when he outgrew it: a gray UnderArmor t-shirt that hugged her curves deliciously and met the waist of her artfully-cut denim skirt. "_There's a blade by the bed and a phone in my hand, a dog on the floor and some cash on the nightstand. When I'm all alone the dreaming stops and I just can't stand_." She gave the audience a sultry smile.  
"_What should I do? I'm just a little baby. What if the lights go out, and maybe… And then the wind just starts to moan. Outside the door, he followed me home, well goodnight moon! I want the sun. If it's not here soon I might be done. No it won't be too soon till I say Goodnight Moon._"  
Offstage, Ryo frowned. "This isn't fair," he whispered. "She's probably got half the male audience hard by now. Of course they're going to win."  
Sage and Cale shrugged, the blond replying, "We'll just have to win over everyone else and hope that the competition ends in a total tie."  
"_There's a shark in the pool and a witch in the tree,_" Kayura continued. Her wide hips swayed slowly with the beat of the music, her strappy-high heeled feet sliding on the floor with her movements. "_A crazy old neighbor and he's been watching me. And there's footsteps loud and strong coming down the hall. Something's under the bed, now it's out in the hedge. There's a big black crow sitting on my window ledge. And I hear something scratching through the wall_." Her deep voice sounded like something from a porn hotline, low and erotic. Practically hugging the stand and making out with the mike, Kayura had even her band members watching her.  
"_Oh what should I do? I'm just a little baby. What if the lights go out, and maybe…I just hate to be all alone. Outside the door, he followed me home, well, goodnight moon! I want the sun. If it's not here soon I might be done. No it won't be too soon till I say Goodnight Moon._" Her voice dropped into a hoarse whisper, sounding like some frightened girl in the dark.  
"_Well you're up so high, how can you save me? When the dark comes here tonight to take me up. The mouth from woke, and into the bed where it kisses my face and eats my hand._" Immediately she was back into the deep, luxurious voice that so contrasted with her normally cheerful, higher tones. "_Oh what should I do? I'm just a little baby. What if the lights go out and maybe…And then the wind just starts to moan. Out side the door, he followed me home, well, goodnight moon! I want the sun, if it's not here soon I might be done. No it won't be too soon till I say Goodnight Moon. No, it won't be too soon till I say…Goodnight Moon._"  
When the music ended, there was a roar from the crowd. Kayura took a sweeping theatrical bow and the others unplugged their instruments and trudged off stage to massive applause.  
"Come on, Ryo, let's win them over with some skillful guitar," Sage said, grabbing his cord. He glanced at Rowen. "Are you going to sing this?"  
"Nah, let Ryo do it. Phoenix is too loud for me," the bassist replied, heading out on stage where Cale was helping Anubis set up his synth. Exchanging a glance with his blonde friend, Ryo shrugged and headed out as well.  
After a brief moment of debate, Ryo took the mike. "Our final song is Phoenix by Stratovarius."  
They opened with some fast guitar and a heavy drum-bass beat, and Ryo took his stand at the mike for the first verse. "_I'm facing the truth, I've got to change the way I live. Can't go on this way, the price it so high to pay. After the rain I feel the sun. See how I run to my destiny."  
_Sage took his place. "_Life is a game I've got to learn how to play. I make my own rules, and now I'm free to choose. Courage and faith will show me the way. See how I run to my destiny!"_ They came in closer as a duet on the chorus.  
"_Like the phoenix I rise from the ashes of life. Don't need fortune or fame, just some peace of mind. Like the phoenix I fly, leaving the lies behind. The future's golden for me, there is no one who can stop me now!_" Ryo took a guitar solo between verses and Sage picked up.  
"_I'm noble and strong. I'm walking down the road that I choose. Each day is a gift and I know that I can't lose! A glorious future's awaiting me. See how I run to my destiny!_" They had cut the original interlude down by a third because it was insanely long and if it went too far they'd lose the audience's interest.  
"_Like the phoenix I rise from the ashes of life. Don't need fortune or fame, just some peace of mind. Like the phoenix I fly, leaving the lies behind. The future's golden for me, there is no one who can stop me now!_"  
They ended the song abruptly there, because already it had run on for a while, and the audience was delayed slightly in confusion over the sudden ending. The cheering was loud, but not nearly as vehement as it was for Kayura's singing.

Kayura stood back stage dividing up the first prize cash amongst the band. Ryo huffed nearby. "It wasn't a fair song; you had Kayura seduce the audience! She'll probably get a ton of propositions before she can make it to the door."  
Dais grinned and shrugged. "You're just mad you didn't think of using her in the first place."  
Kayura walked by and winked, blowing a kiss to Ryo as she passed. "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," she said with a laugh.  
"Come on, I'll take you guys out to eat, my treat." Cye stuffed his prize money in his pocket. "We'll hit the diner."


End file.
